Young Gods
by Clara Barton
Summary: A Phoenician relic finds its way into Dr. Relena Peacecraft's hands. An unexpected group must decide the fate of the world. Full of sex, adventure and sass.
1. Prologue

A/N: Saw a photo on tumblr and decided to finally start writing one of those many urban fantasy ideas I keep floating around with maevemauvaise. Lots of thanks to kangofu-cb for the Quatre ideas. And also, thanks to our Weird Ideas club lol? (Amberly and ChronicWhimsy and Maeve and Kangofu-Cb and Simulacryn)

A/N2: Thanks always to Ro. I have literally no idea how you put up with me, but we both know I'd be nothing without you so thank you. Always, always thank you.

A/N3: Just wanted to write something for Smutty Sunday. This will HOPEFULLY be the Prologue to a much longer, complicated fic that draws a lot from The Mummy.

A/N4: Title is inspired by the Halsey song "Young God" because of course it is.

A/N5: Please review. Please. _Please_.

Pairings: 3xR, 2x5, 4x6, others no doubt

Warnings: angst, language, sex, supernatural things, violence, drug use

 _Young Gods_

 _Prologue_

Duo had a lifetime of doing stupid shit. He had, he liked to think, made it into a bit of an art form.

That didn't mean he wasn't aware that sometimes, the stupid shit he did was… really stupid. Really, really stupid in the kind of ways that meant he was probably going to die or, at the very least, end up in jail.

He also knew that he was a creature of habit and, well, he had a habit of finding angry, unapproachable guys hot and approaching them with propositions that _usually_ resulted in him getting told to fuck off but _sometimes_ resulted in him getting invited somewhere horizontal.

He had been pretty sure that the hot guy at the club, with his fierce scowl and his sneer for everyone who tried to feel him up on the dance floor as he danced alone, with the kind of confidence and abandonment that Duo both envied and found desperately attractive, was just going to be another tally in the 'fuck off' column, but Duo decided it was worth the risk all the same. Even with his recent streak of absolutely _shit_ luck.

He hadn't been a horny idiot, like the other guys, who just shoved their way through the press of bodies until they were basically humping against the hot guy, until the hot guy gave them a look of pure scorn that probably had some of them pissing themselves. Most of them melted away at just the look, but a few needed what looked like either a few choice words or a pointed demonstration of what the guy did with dicks he wasn't interested in.

It turned Duo on even more and yeah, he was something like _completely_ confident he was going to be shot down, but hey, he was young, there was only one life to live, and whatever club shit Hilde had slipped to him was doing wonders for his self-confidence and already admittedly low inhibitions.

So he eased through the sweaty press of bodies on the dance floor, stepping away from the hands that reached for him until, finally, he was close to the gorgeous dark eyed man without being pressed up against him.

The club had been playing a steady, heart-syncing flow of electronica that Duo didn't care for nearly as much as Hilde did, but that certainly made it easier not to _think,_ and definitely didn't require any real skill on the dance floor.

The guy, his dark eyes matched by loose, shoulder-length black hair that moved like silk over his shoulders and dark clothes that hugged his lean body but left his arms and a deep vee of chest exposed, was probably the most gorgeous and unapproachable man Duo had ever seen.

He wondered how it was possible to project such a tangible sense of _fuck off_ while dancing in the middle of a crowded club.

Duo probably, _definitely_ , considering everything that happened afterwards, should have definitely decided to fuck off and _not_ idle closer until, like magic, the music shifted after thirty minutes of upbeat tempo crap to something just slow enough that it _might_ if you were drunk or high enough - and Duo was both - be considered _almost_ a slow song.

The dark eyed man's dancing had slowed to a graceful swaying, and, as close as he was, Duo could see the fine sheen of sweat on his forehead and upper lip. He wondered what those delicate beads tasted like.

"D'you wanna?"

He had to repeat the question when it was met with a confused scowl the first time, had to add in a gesture that he hoped looked like an invitation.

The dark eyed man considered him with a long look, taking in Duo's entire appearance, head to toe, and Duo, who knew he looked good - had, after all, taken the time to look _damn_ good tonight on the off-chance that he ran into his ex so he could make it really, really clear that the asshole was missing out and that Duo was fine - found himself squirming under the gaze.

But then the man shrugged and held out one of his arms, the flesh bare golden and smooth, and Duo wrapped his hand in the proffered one and felt his pulse thrum in ecstasy.

Then again, it could _be_ the ecstasy.

There had been the risk of The Ex, and Duo making a fool of himself, and Hilde had said _she_ was going to do it, and while Duo didn't do drugs often, tonight had felt like a good night to do some.

The guy felt amazing, his body radiating heat and strength, and when one of his hands moved from Duo's lower back to his ass and pulled him closer, Duo was pretty sure he wasn't going to get told to fuck off. At least, not yet.

They danced like that for a while, the guy's hand on his ass and his other hand fiddling with the collar of Duo's button-up in a way that somehow felt more intimate than the much more southerly one. Duo, for his part, kept his hands on the man's hips, his grip loose, and he tried not to breathe too deeply when the other man leaned his head close. He didn't want to come off as some kind of creep, who went around _sniffing_ gorgeous guys but-

But the guy smelled like sweat, like the smoke or the haze or whatever they were pumping into the club and, Duo really couldn't help but notice as he drew in a deeper breath than he should, lemon and sandalwood.

Eventually, after what felt like an eternity but definitely not long enough, the guy pulled back, the hand on Duo's ass falling away and the one around his neck trailing down Duo's right arm and easing Duo's hand off his hip.

"I need water," the man said, his lips close enough to Duo's ear that he could feel the warm puff of his breath.

Duo nodded.

"Sure, uh, thanks for-"

But the man wasn't walking away from Duo, wasn't leaving him stranded on the dance floor but was, instead, tugging Duo through the crowd with him.

They edged up to the bar, Duo keenly aware of both the way his hand fit in the other man's and the fact that he was grinning, probably like an idiot - _definitely_ like an idiot if the eyeroll Hilde, already at the bar with two other women vying for her attention, shot his way was any indication.

The man bought a bottle of water and Duo watched him drink it, watched his throat work as he swallowed, and really hoped he got to experience what it felt like to be in that position.

He offered Duo a sip, which Duo took, more because he wanted his lips to be in the same place the man's had been than because he wanted to hydrate.

The man left the empty bottle on the bar top and then grabbed Duo's hand again.

Back on the dance floor, the music had picked up in tempo again, and Duo didn't know quite what to do, where to put his hands or-

The other man clearly knew what he wanted, though. He positioned himself in front of Duo, his back pressed against Duo's front, and put Duo's hands back on his hips.

They danced together like that for a while, each pulse of music echoing through Duo's body and each feel of the man's sinuous body against his own making him wonder if this was heaven or hell. He'd been half hard for at least fifteen minutes, had done his level best to keep his dick from stabbing the other man in the ass too many times, but when the other man eventually turned around in his arms, his dark eyes hooded and a smirk on his lips, Duo could feel that he wasn't the only one turned on.

He did some smirking of his own then, and leaned down to brush his lips over the other man's cheek, trailing them across a few strands of soft hair, until Duo arrived at his ear.

He felt the man shiver against him.

"Let me take you home."

The shiver become a kind of roll, hips arching against Duo and cocks rubbing together through too many layers of clothing.

"Can't." The man's fingers were in Duo's hair, pulling his head closer, and his lips were open and moist against Duo's ear. "I'm meeting someone."

Well. That sucked.

Duo started to pull away, his arousal dying and his instincts of _yeah, of course bad shit happens, time to duck and run_ kicking in.

But the man was tugging on his hand again, pulling Duo off the dance floor but not towards the bar.

They pushed their way through a narrow hallway, and the man held open the door to the bathroom for Duo before slamming it shut by pressing Duo's body back against it and pressing _his_ body against Duo's.

The bathroom was startlingly silent after the deafening music of the club, and it took Duo a moment to adjust to the silence and to the bright lights bouncing off the sort-of white tiles and much less white walls.

"Okay. This works too," Duo decided, as the slightly shorter man looked up at him with eyes that were _searing_ him.

The other man's fingers tugged Duo's head down and their lips met in a kiss that was, for lack of any ability to describe it beyond _holy fuck, yes_ , amazing.

The man was still so hot, his body firm and his lips just as firm, slanting over Duo's with a kind of fierce, frenetic energy that made Duo feel like the club music was still pounding into his ears and guiding his heartbeat.

Duo held him close, feeling it was safe to move his hands from the man's narrow hips to cup his ass, digging his fingers into the flesh when the other man groaned and hitched himself closer.

He felt the swipe of the man's tongue and Duo opened his mouth, greedily sucking him in, twining his own tongue with the other man's, and _fuck_.

It had been… Well, it had been six months since he'd fucked anyone, a full three since he'd even kissed anyone. It was impossible to forget how good it felt to be joined together with someone like this, but damn, _this_ was the reminder that Duo had really, really needed to get himself out of the post-dumped funk he had been drowning in for the last six months.

The man's fingers moved down to Duo's waist, nimble and determined, and not wasting _any_ time taking in the sights as he unzipped Duo's jeans and reached inside.

Duo moaned at the feel of a hand on his cock, so _so_ grateful he hadn't worn underwear, and even more grateful that the hand touching him wasn't his own.

The man pulled away from Duo's mouth, both of them panting, both of them staring at each other's lips.

"Do you have a condom?" the man asked.

Duo shook his head in the negative. He hadn't thought that far ahead, sure as hell hadn't planned on getting any kind of lucky that would necessitate a condom.

The man made a face, but he wrapped his hand around Duo's cock, gripping the flesh and stroking it in a firm, downright _possessive_ way that had Duo closing his eyes and fisting his hands in the man's shirt.

"Pity. I wanted you to fuck me."

Duo let out a chuckle that quickly turned into a moan.

"Me fucking too," he gasped when the man twisted his hand, applying pressure to the shaft of Duo's cock and also pressing his thumb against the broad head at the same time. The sensations went a long way towards making Duo forget his own stupidly easy to remember name.

Forgetting how to _breathe_ came next, when the man sank down to his knees and licked the tip of Duo's cock, his tongue swirling the leaking precum around and then down Duo's shaft.

" _Fuck_ ," Duo whined. _Whined_ because _fuck fuck fuck_.

The man was a god, a literal god on earth or something, because his _tongue_ and his _mouth_ and the hand that had moved from Duo's cock to his balls, and _holy fuck_.

"I- Jesus. Fuck, dude. You're- Oh Jesus, Jesus-"

The man pulled away, a trail of saliva and precum still connecting his lips to Duo's cock, and he glared up at him.

"My name is Wufei. If you feel like praying, I'd appreciate you getting the name right."

Duo was startled into a laugh, and the moment struck him as - not so much surreal as _real_ , too real. He'd forgotten that sex was fun, that it felt good to be touched and not be braced for a fight. Hell, he'd almost forgotten what it felt like to _laugh_.

"Wufei," Duo tested out the name. " _Fuck, Wufei!"_

The man had latched onto Duo's cock again, his tongue tracing the underside even as he sucked on it, his cheeks hollowed and his eyes so dark and bottomless that Duo felt like he was going to drown.

Which, speaking of drowning - it had been a while, for Duo, and the drugs and the three shots of Jaegermeister he had done with Hilde weren't doing him any favors in the stamina department.

"I'm close," he grunted when Wufei's hand roamed from his balls to the crease between Duo's ass cheeks. He felt a finger probe him and he spread his legs as much as the jeans he was wearing and his position would allow.

Duo whimpered when Wufei pressed his finger inside, and wished like _fuck_ he had condoms and lube on him.

"Fuck, Wufei, I'm serious. I'm going to cum. If you-"

Wufei made absolutely no move to pull away and Duo stopped trying to fight himself. He gave a weak, experimental thrust forward and Wufei hummed, changing the angle of his head, and Duo thrust again and _fuck fuck._

"Wufei, oh Wufei, you're so fucking- _Fuck!_ " He came with blinding intensity, the edges of his vision blurring and his whole body _singing_ with release.

Duo had to use the door behind himself to stay upright, but even so he slumped a little, had to catch himself before he slid down to the floor.

Wufei pulled away, Duo's half-hard cock slowly slipping from his lips, and Duo sighed.

"I like your cock," the other man said, giving it a fond tug before tucking it back inside Duo's jeans.

"I, uh, like it too?" Duo managed to say, a little disconcerted when Wufei zipped him back up and stood up.

Wufei smirked, and Duo, while he could admit the smirk was a good look for him, gave in to his urge to kiss the expression off of the other man's face.

He could taste himself in the other man's mouth, but he didn't care and neither did Wufei. His fingers sifted through Duo's hair as he pulled him closer, and Duo moved away from the door, lips locked onto Wufei's as they stumbled across the bathroom and against the wall of the nearest stall.

Wufei made a grumble of protest in Duo's mouth, and Duo stood up.

"Sorry," he mumbled against Wufei's lips.

Wufei just kissed him again, accepting the apology or just not caring, and while their mouths were occupied Duo reached between them and felt Wufei's cock, still hard or at least hard again, trapped in the confines of his tight black trousers.

Wufei, unlike Duo, _was_ wearing underwear, and as Duo shoved the underwear and trousers down, he heard the clatter of something fall from Wufei's pockets.

Neither of them paid much attention, but when Duo moved away from Wufei, the other man gave him a petulant look.

"Lean against the sink," Duo instructed. "You said you wanted to be fucked."

"You said you didn't have a condom," Wufei reminded him.

"True," Duo agreed. He leaned close and ran his tongue over the shell of Wufei's ear and then bit down on his earlobe. "But that's not the only thing I can fuck you with."

Duo had to laugh at how quickly Wufei moved, leaning over the counter and bracing himself against it while he spread his legs wide.

"Damn, Wufei, your ass is a work of art," Duo whistled as he looked at the two round, pale globes before him and the dark ring nestled between them, Wufei's heavy scrotum and hard cock visible between his legs.

Wufei looked back at him in the mirror, his dark eyes hooded again and his lips parted.

"I'm glad you approve. Maybe you could demonstrate your appreciation?"

Duo chuckled. He wasn't used to bossy, but he liked it. He liked it a lot.

He ran his hands over Wufei's ass, teasing him, squeezing the firm flesh and kneading it until Wufei gave him a dark look.

"I'm Duo, by the way. If you wanted to start ordering me around."

"I don't need your name for that," Wufei bit out. "But will you _please_ \- Fuck."

"Please what?" Duo asked. He had moved one hand to Wufei's front and taken Wufei's hard, leaking cock in hand while his other continued to trace over Wufei's ass, circling closer to his anus, and Wufei shifted towards him.

"Impatient, aren't you?" Duo had to laugh.

"Did I tease _you_ like this?" Wufei growled.

"No," Duo admitted with a smirk. "Feel free to next time."

Wufei's lips twitched and then fell open in a moan as Duo ran his right index finger over the sensitive skin of his perineum. He kept his touch light, but firm, and Wufei rocked into it.

"I really, really wish I had a condom," Duo muttered as he looked down at the sight.

"Next time," Wufei murmured.

"Hm," Duo agreed. He sincerely hoped there _was_ a next time. He needed to get Wufei's number.

He moved his hand upwards, towards Wufei's anus, and he pressed against it with his thumb.

Duo looked down at the floor, decided it wasn't _that_ bad, and knelt down so he was in a better position.

He moved both of his hands to Wufei's thighs and ass, spreading his cheeks apart, and leaned forward.

The first touch of his tongue had Wufei swearing, as Duo traced the same path from his balls, across his perineum and to the tight bud between his cheeks.

"Duo," Wufei moaned, and damn, it felt good to hear someone say his name like that.

And Wufei… Duo circled his tongue around the man's hole, savouring the smooth skin of his thighs and ass and breathing in the scent of sandalwood, lemon and sex. Fuck, but he had missed this.

He teased Wufei with his tongue, pushing against him, pressing forward until Wufei was making noises that Duo was pretty sure the other man wasn't aware he was making and would definitely deny were coming from his mouth.

He moved one hand back to Wufei's cock, smoothing precum down the shaft and stroking it slowly, firmly.

Wufei rocked into the touch, moving forward and then backwards, and Duo used the momentum to help him, his tongue entering Wufei's body, and _both_ of them groaned.

Duo wriggled his tongue around, tasting the other man, and fuck, he was tight - so, _so_ tight - and Duo really, really wished he had a condom.

"Duo, Duo, that's- Yes, _yes_."

As much as Wufei seemed to be enjoying it, Duo didn't think he was going to be able to get him off with just his tongue, not in this scenario.

He pulled away slowly, sucking on the flesh before him and leaving as much saliva as he could behind, and he moved the hand from Wufei's cock to his ass, replacing his tongue with one finger, and Wufei moaned again.

Duo stood back up, trailing his mouth and tongue over Wufei's ass and lower back as he did, and he met Wufei's gaze in the mirror.

The man's dark eyes were unfocused, the muscles in his neck bunched with effort, and he looked beyond sexy.

Duo moved his other hand to Wufei's cock, and as he slipped a second finger into Wufei's body and heard the man croon in delight, _felt_ that knot inside Wufei's body with his fingers, Duo pressed a kiss to the back of his neck, licking the sweat he found there.

"Tell me what you want. How do you like it."

"Just- just like this," Wufei panted. "It's, fuck, it's good, Duo. Just- Yes, _yes_."

Duo kept it with just two fingers. It was easier to maneuver them, and it wasn't like he was stretching Wufei to accommodate anything larger. The other man didn't seem to have any complaints, either.

He scissored his fingers open and Wufei's white-knuckled grip on the sink counter spasmed.

Duo felt the other man's body clamp down around his fingers, felt his cock shudder, felt cum spurt over his hand, and he continued to stroke Wufei through it, easing his grip until it was more of a caress.

"Fuck," Wufei breathed, and Duo couldn't help but chuckle.

Wufei met his gaze in the mirror again and he smirked.

He gently pushed Duo away, from both his ass and his cock, and Duo gave him space.

He did watch, though, as Wufei wet a paper towel in the sink and cleaned himself off.

"I like your ass," he said.

Wufei looked over at him, head tilted to the side and long hair falling around his cheeks in a way that made him look somehow gentle and vulnerable.

"I like it too," he used Duo's earlier words, and Duo had to laugh.

He decided to stop watching Wufei, though, and do a bit of cleaning himself. He washed his hands off and accepted the dry paper towel Wufei passed him.

"So, uh, any chance I could get your number?" Duo had to ask, knew he would probably regret it forever if he didn't.

Wufei smirked again and shrugged one shoulder as he finished washing his own hands.

"There's a good chance, yeah."

Duo rolled his eyes.

"So, can I-"

The door to the bathroom banged open and a small, furious-looking woman barged in.

"Wufei! Where the fuck have you been?! I've been looking everywhere for you. We have to _go,_ and you- " She looked at Duo, looked at the disheveled state of both their clothes. "Great. I'm out here doing my job and _you_ are in the bathroom fucking the _gweilo_. This is why I don't like to work with you. You think with your dick first and-"

"Will you get _out_ of the men's bathroom?" Wufei hissed at her, looking fairly furious himself.

They glared at each other, and she made no move to leave.

Wufei muttered something under his breath, but he crumpled up the paper towel in his hands and tossed in into the wall-mounted trash can.

He turned to Duo with an apologetic expression on his face.

"I have to go. I'm-"

"Meeting someone, right. I remember. I, uh," Duo looked awkwardly at the woman again, who had crossed her arms and was tapping one foot on the tile. Her dark hair, cut short into a bob that framed her face, swayed with the motion. "About your number? Is there-"

"Oh come the fuck _on_. " The woman grabbed Wufei's arm. "They're a dime a dozen, Wufei. Let's go, now. I'm sure you were very good, blah, blah, blah. But it was a bathroom fuck and you'll both get over it."

She started to drag him from the bathroom, both men scowling at her, when Duo noticed something on the floor.

"Wait, I think you dropped this."

There was a velvet bag on the floor near the sink, a glint of metal and the shape of some kind of disc visible through the top opening, and Duo reached for it.

"No!" Wufei and the woman shouted. "Don't touch that-!"

Too late, though. Duo had the thing in his hands.

It was heavy, a lot heavier than some kind of commemorative coin looked like it would be. And that _was_ what it looked like.

Duo opened the bag further, curious, and ran his finger over the edge.

Wufei dove for him, as did the woman, but before either one could touch him, Duo felt a horrible twisting sensation in his gut, felt the world start to shift and his pulse raise and then-

Then he felt nothing.

-o-

TBC


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: So Maevemauvaise and I have been chatting about possible urban fantasy AUs for YEARS at this point and I finally sat down to write one. This is cobbled together from things we have discussed, ideas from Neil Gaiman's _American Gods_ , _The Mummy_ (the GOOD one don't even MENTION that other noise to me) and probably a lot of pop culture that I'm not even realizing I'm drawing from.

A/N 2: Ro, my amazing beta, who goes with me down so very very many rabbit holes and is crazy supportive, is amazing. Thank you for all that you do.

A/N 3: So, trying to put my fics on an angst scale a la coffee blends. Let's go with a medium roast for this one - some angst but it's not terribly bitter.

A/N 4: Reviews and comments literally make me keep writing. So thank you everyone who takes the time to comment. It IS my inspiration to keep writing.

Warnings: angst, language, violence, drug use, supernatural things, sex, character death, gore

Pairings: (a LOT and some will change, so I'm only going to list the main pairings for now) 2x5, 3xR, HxM, 4x6

 _Young Gods_

Chapter One

"I hope the sex was worth it."

It was two a.m., Meilan was exhausted and irritated and _furious_ , and the coffee in her hands tasted like actual battery acid.

The twenty-four hour diner they sat in was stained, lit so dimly that she was convinced there were even _more_ stains, but it was nearly empty and, well, the coffee was hot at least.

She looked across the table at her cousin and saw his shoulders stiffen at the words, saw his dark eyes narrow and his lips tighten.

Having said the same thing to him herself for _hours_ , Meilan really shouldn't care that the words seemed to cut into him.

But she did. Because she wasn't the one saying it.

Heero Yuy wasn't what she had expected him to be. Then again, nothing about tonight had gone as expected, so she really should just accept that the antiquities agent sitting beside her in the chipped linoleum booth looked more like an action hero than a scholar.

The three of them had spent hours scouring the club and several blocks surrounding it, looking for the _gweilo_ that Wufei had fucked in the bathroom. Their search had been unsuccessful, and Meilan had had the dubious pleasure of stabbing one of her stiletto boot heels into a man's foot when he followed her down an alley and offered to 'assist' her by grabbing her ass.

When Wufei didn't respond to Yuy's reprimand, the man shifted in the booth. He put an arm across the back and turned to her, boxing her in even further. She hated the feeling, but she forced herself to turn her head and meet his glare with her own.

"Your grandfather made a deal with the Collection to deliver the artifact. They are going to be _very_ displeased when I come back empty-handed."

Yuy was _good_. Using the personal attack on Wufei to make him ashamed, but reminding Meilan of her grandfather and her failure to _him_ was exactly the best way to make Meilan feel guilty.

There was also, of course, the mention of the Collection, the shadowy European group that had reached out to the Long clan seven months ago with the offer to buy one of grandfather's artifacts.

They had gone back and forth for months, grandfather insisting on keeping the object in the family and letting his heirs sell it after he died if they so wished, but the Collection had sent one representative after another with offers to buy the artifact. Meilan had seen her grandfather go into the meetings with each of the _gweilos_ looking politely disinterested and, hours later, come out with a tight expression of anxiety.

The last meeting had been that afternoon, between Grandfather and the man now sitting beside Meilan. She hadn't been present for the meeting, and when Grandfather had called her to let her know of the deal and to ask her to present the object to Yuy that same evening, Meilan had been taken aback.

She, as his only heir, hadn't been particularly invested in the artifact. It was, after all, only one of the many coins and statues in her grandfather's possession, and one that she hadn't paid much attention to since her early childhood.

Meilan could still remember the last time she had touched the medallion. She couldn't have been more than three or four, and Grandfather had kept the medallion in a golden box on a lacquered table that was almost but not quite too tall for her to reach.

The medallion had been as large as her palm, the gold soft and heavy in her grasp, and the worn engravings - outlines of lions and arrows surrounding a slim, tall figure - had been wonderful to trace.

She had been at the age where 'playing' with things too often resulted in their destruction, and Grandfather had shifted most things of value out of her reach. But the medallion… Meilan had cradled it in her hands and stared at it for what had felt like _hours_. It had grown warm, and she had felt the heat of it spread through her small body, had felt as though the sun was shining directly upon her, and Meilan had fallen asleep. She had dreamed of an impossibly tall, thin woman with hair twisted into two braids and eyes darker than night and lips stained red. The woman had walked around Grandfather's study, had leafed through the ancient, priceless tomes that he collected and smirked at the collection of bronze weapons in the locked glass cabinet. And then she had turned to Meilan, had reached out and touched her face and whispered words that Meilan hadn't understood. And then…

And then Meilan had woken up to her grandfather shaking her, crying and begging her to open her eyes.

The box with the medallion had been moved that very day, and Meilan hadn't seen it again until the Collection had started to negotiate with her grandfather for the thing. And even then, Grandfather had made it very clear that she was to never touch the thing. That _no one_ should ever touch it.

His vehement insistence that the oil and bacteria on human hands would destroy it had only made it even more clear to Meilan that Grandfather was getting very, _very_ old.

"Why was he the one carrying it?" Yuy asked, and jerked his head towards Wufei.

Her cousin scowled, but instead of offering a biting retort, he kept his eyes on the table.

Wufei really was ashamed, Meilan realized.

"Why did _you_ want me to give it to you at a club at midnight?" Meilan asked instead of answering Yuy's question.

The man's blue eyes narrowed.

"The intention was for the hand-off to be discreet."

Wufei snorted.

"And you didn't think I was going to be at all suspicious of giving you a priceless family heirloom on the dance floor?" Meilan demanded.

Yuy's lips tightened, and his eyes flicked over her face, studying her.

"You wanted him to carry it in case this was a setup," he sighed. "You should have trusted me."

"Yes, because trusting a man she has never met in a nightclub was clearly the natural choice," Wufei finally spoke up.

Yuy didn't even spare him a look. He continued as if Wufei hadn't spoken.

"The Collection has already transferred the money to your grandfather's accounts."

"I know," Meilan sighed. She had managed the Long finances for years now, and she had been the one to show her grandfather the notice of the two million dollar transfer into their account before Grandfather had sighed and taken the medallion out of the safe.

Yuy tapped his fingers on the tabletop, still staring at her with disconcerting intensity.

After a moment, he looked away, and Meilan had to clamp down on her urge to sigh in relief.

Yuy was back to glaring at Wufei.

"You need to tell me everything you remember about him."

Wufei glared back.

"I already _did_."

"Long brown hair and blue eyes and tight black clothes cannot possibly be everything you remember about him."

"I told you his name," Wufei grumbled. He shifted in his seat and folded his arms across his chest. It was a defensive posture that he had used for his entire life, and Meilan rolled her eyes at him.

" _Duo_ isn't a name," Meilan sighed. "That _gweilo_ played you and-"

"You think he stole the medallion?" Yuy asked, his voice dangerously casual.

Wufei hesitated, and then shook his head.

"No. I think he was just trying to return it to us. I- What the _fuck_ was that thing anyway? What _happened_?"

It was the question that Meilan had been afraid to ask, but it had been plaguing her for hours, ever since she and Wufei had watched the white man pick up the velvet bag and pull out the medallion. He had vanished before their very eyes, leaving both of them speechless and frozen.

And then Heero Yuy had burst into the bathroom and taken over immediately.

Yuy leaned back in the booth, his fingers still tapping out a slow rhythm on the chipped tabletop.

The silence stretched between them, taut and unbearable.

"Well?" Meilan finally prompted. She had lost too many staring contests with Wufei to expect _him_ to speak up.

"Your grandfather…" Yuy frowned, and then drew in a deep breath. "Your grandfather has made the decision not to tell you about the nature of the artifact. I will respect his wishes."

"That _thing_ just made a man _vanish_!" Wufei snarled. He leaned across the table. "So tell us what the _fuck_ it is. Master Long's wishes be damned!"

Again, it was exactly what Meilan had wanted to say.

"It's not my place," Yuy demurred.

Meilan turned to glare at him.

"And what exactly _is_ your place? You can't expect us to believe that you're some… researcher or archeologist who works for the Tartarus Collection. Not when you're built like a Navy SEAL." She reached out and shoved a finger in his chest. "And why the hell do you need to wear body armor?"

Across the table, Wufei's eyes narrowed. He hadn't noticed, then. Meilan had, watching Yuy inspect the bathroom and order them around.

Yuy grasped her hand, his grip firm on her wrist, and moved it away from himself.

"Strength of body doesn't preclude strength of mind," he said, the words sounding like some catechism that Grandfather or even Wufei would spout. "And I like to be prepared."

"And if _we_ had been prepared, none of this would have happened," Meilan pointed out.

Yuy's lips tightened.

"Again, that was not my choice. You-"

Meilan twisted her hand, relaxing and turning and then pulling, and suddenly it was Yuy with his hand in her grasp. She twisted the hand behind his back and slammed his face down on the table and braced her other hand on the back of his neck.

"Everything is fine. She's just teaching him some manners," Wufei said, assuring the mildly concerned waiter and cook behind the diner's bar.

Their eyes slid away from the booth.

"Tell us what it was," Meilan hissed.

Yuy stared up at her, eyes cold and empty. His body wasn't even tense; he wasn't attempting to struggle at all. If anything, he seemed more relaxed _now_ than he had all evening.

"You wouldn't believe me even if I did tell you," he sighed.

"One minute the _gweilo_ was fucking my cousin, and the next minute he _vanished_. I think you'll find we're willing to believe quite a lot of things right now."

Yuy's lips twisted into what might have been a smirk.

"The medallion is likely Phoenician in origin."

Meilan arched an eyebrow. She wasn't all that interested in a history presentation. She twisted Yuy's arm more.

He didn't react at all.

"Phoenician… The Mediterranean merchants?"

Meilan rolled her eyes at Wufei. Of _course_ her cousin not only knew who the Phoenicians were, but wanted to _chat_ about them.

"Wufei," she hissed in warning.

"Yes, the merchants," Yuy confirmed. "Among other things. You've seen the medallion?" He was looking at Meilan again.

She nodded.

"And?"

"And what? There was a figure surrounded by arrows and lions."

"Lions were sacred animals for the Canaanites."

"The Canaanites? I thought we were talking about the Phoenicians. Who the hell are the-"

"They're the same people," Wufei interrupted her. "I think," he added with a frown.

Yuy managed to nod.

"Yes, they are. The Hebrew Bible-"

"Oh, for the love of fuck, I don't care about ancient history! What was that thing, and what _happened_ tonight?"

Yuy's lips compressed for a moment.

"The figure on the medallion is a Canaanite goddess."

"Which one?" Wufei asked.

"You know the Canaanite pantheon?" Yuy asked, sounding amused.

Wufei flushed.

"I don't know who she is," Yuy answered. "That's why we want her. The medallion isn't- It isn't safe."

" _Obviously_."

"Whatever goddess is on the medallion was powerful - _is_ powerful - and she's looking for a way back into the world. I'm guessing she just found her first priest."

"What in the actual fuck are you talking about?" Meilan was even _more_ confused now than when Yuy had started to 'explain' things.

Unbidden, the memory of the tall woman with bloodied lips rose to her mind. Meilan forced it aside. She had been three, and she had been dreaming.

"Are either of you religious?"

Meilan snorted derisively, and Wufei shook his head.

"That's unfortunate."

"You are?" Meilan asked, not bothering to keep the disdain from her voice.

"I believe there are forces beyond our control that have shaped this world," Yuy answered cryptically. "And you've just seen proof of that."

"What- You really think some ancient goddess made that _gweilo_ vanish?"

"Do you have another explanation?" Yuy's voice was mild and amused again.

She didn't.

But that didn't mean believing some _goddess_ was real and had used her powers to- to what?

"What happened to him?" Meilan had to ask.

"I have no idea. Hopefully, he's not dead."

"Hopefully?"

"Corpses get looted."

Wufei's face turned grim at Yuy's words.

"This is boring me," Yuy sighed, and, before Meilan could even react, broke free of her grip and stood up beside the booth.

Meilan stared up at him with wide eyes while Yuy dipped a napkin in his untouched glass of water and wiped his face off.

"Tell me more about _Duo_ ," he said to Wufei.

"I already told you-"

"Did he have any piercings?"

"Yes? I think he had some on his ears."

"Where on his ears?"

Wufei scowled, and lifted one hand to his own ear.

"Here," he tugged on the lobe, "and higher, up here?" He moved his fingers to the top of his ear.

"Tattoos?"

"Not that I could see."

Yuy arched an eyebrow, and Wufei flushed.

"We didn't take off our clothes."

"Circumcised or not?"

If possible, Wufei's face reddened even more.

"Not," he muttered.

"Any jewelry?"

Wufei started to shake his head, and then paused.

"He had some kind of gold chain around his neck. I don't know if anything was on it."

"Any rings?"

"No. But…"

"But?" Yuy prompted.

"But he had ink stains on his fingers. On his right hand."

"Ink stains?" Meilan asked. "What-"

"They were faded, like he had tried to scrub them off but it didn't work."

Yuy dropped the napkin back on the table.

"That's helpful. If you think of anything else, let me know."

He slid cards to both Meilan and Wufei.

 _Heero Yuy_

 _Consultant_

 _The Tartarus Collection_

On the back was a phone number and email address. There was no logo and no background image. Just black lettering on crisp white cardstock.

"Tell your grandfather that the Collection will take responsibility for the artifact. It's no longer his burden."

"Burden? What-"

But Yuy was already walking away.

Meilan finished the impossibly bitter dregs of her coffee and pulled out her wallet.

She left a twenty dollar bill on the table and then stood up.

Wufei followed her out of the diner, silent and sullen, and together they walked back to the lot where she had parked the car.

It wasn't until she was in the car, with the doors locked and Wufei strapping on his seatbelt in the passenger seat, that the full weight of what had happened hit her.

"Grandfather is never going to forgive me," she whispered, imagining his face filled with disappointment, imagining the silence that would hang between them while she drowned in guilt.

"I'm sorry."

It might have been the first time Wufei had ever apologized to Meilan for _anything_. For some reason, the words infuriated her.

"You're _sorry_? Wufei, we had one job to do tonight - one thing to focus on, and you- you don't even _like_ clubs! You hate going out, and the _minute_ we got there, you started dancing! And you let yourself be distracted! Are you _that_ desperate for sex that you had to let him fuck you in the _bathroom_? That's not even- that's not even _like_ you!"

Wufei's jaw locked, and she could see a muscle spasm.

"I know." His voice was low and raw. "I know it wasn't like me. I don't understand what- I have no idea why I did that. I've ruined everything. I-"

"Oh, for fuck's sake, do _not_ make me start comforting you. You fucked up, and now we're screwed. Don't you dare pull your 'woe is me, I should just kill myself' shit again."

Wufei leaned his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes.

"He just vanished. He was there one minute and- This is insane!"

It was. It absolutely was.

But all Meilan could think about was the feeling of sun on her skin and the touch of the woman in her dream.

"Yuy said that Grandfather chose not to tell us. He- Grandfather knew. He _knows_ what that thing is."

Wufei scowled at her.

"So you want us to go to his house, tell him we lost the medallion, and then ask him what the fuck it is and how it made a man vanish?"

Meilan glared at him.

When he said it out loud, it sounded… insane.

"What _else_ can we do?"

"Yuy said that his people were going to take responsibility for it. We should just pretend this never happened."

Meilan snorted.

"Yeah, that'll be easy."

"Easier than telling Master Long what we failed to do."

 _That_ was true.

But Meilan hated lying to her grandfather. The man had raised her almost from birth, when her parents had died in a train derailment, and he was the only family she had left. Aside from Wufei, of course. But she didn't really count a distant, antagonistic cousin as family. Not in the way that Grandfather was.

Meilan sighed and put the car in gear.

"I'll figure out what to do," she muttered.

After dropping Wufei off at the decrepit walk-up he lived in in Astoria, Meilan drove back into Manhattan and to the apartment her grandfather owned in Chinatown.

She had lived on her own for a few years - insisting on living in the dorms at Fordham when she went to college, and then, while getting her MBA at The Stern School, she had rented an apartment in Greenwich Village. She had moved in with her girlfriend during her last year at Stern, and continued to live with her until they broke up two years ago. The timing had coincided with a decline in her grandfather's health, and Meilan had moved back into his apartment to keep an eye on him and, at his insistence, start managing the family finances more directly.

But this apartment would always be home.

She hoped so, at any rate.

She parked her car and took the private elevator up to the apartment, and wondered what she could possibly hope to tell Grandfather in the morning.

The morning which, she realized as she looked at her phone, was already upon her.

It was almost four, and Grandfather got up no later than five-thirty every day.

With a sigh, Meilan stepped off of the elevator and into the apartment foyer.

She drew in a deep, calming breath and stepped out of her shoes.

Something was burning.

" _A yèh_?"

There was no answer.

Meilan walked towards the kitchen and found the source of the burning smell.

A kettle had been left on on one of the burners.

She turned the burner off and used a potholder to lift the kettle off of the oven. She set it in the sink and removed the lid.

The water had completely boiled off.

With a sigh, Meilan left it in the sink and decided to go upstairs to check on her grandfather.

She walked past the library that she now used as an office, glancing in to see that a light was still on and stopping to turn it off.

The room was a mess - books pulled from the shelves, the desk so chaotic that it made Meilan's usual state of disorder seem _neat,_ the carpets pulled back and some of the furniture overturned.

" _A yèh_?" she called again, anxious now.

She raced down the hall, only briefly glancing into the main library to see that it too had been wrecked, and then wrenched open the door to her grandfather's bedroom without knocking.

It was completely dark, with only the faint light of the city making the closed curtains glow dimly.

" _A yèh_?"

She approached the bed cautiously.

The white sheets and comforter were twisted around a dark form.

Meilan turned on one of the bedside lights and then looked back at the bed.

"No!"

She crawled onto the bed and pulled her grandfather's limp, pale body against hers, ignoring the blood that clung to her hands and pooled on the sheets.

" _A yèh_! Please don't be dead. _Bùyào líkāi wǒ_!"

His eyes were wide open, staring beyond her into the darkness.

TBC

Notes:

 _Gweilo_ \- Cantonese slang for a white person, it means white ghost. It CAN be derogatory. Meilan certainly means it that way.

 _a yèh_ \- Cantonese for paternal grandfather.

 _Bùyào líkāi wǒ_ \- okay so google translate says that this is "simplified Chinese" for Don't Leave Me. I can't find anything that will translate English to Canto for free for me so… I'm sorry.

*I'm going to go with the idea that the Long family came from Hong Kong. I have zero evidence to support this and I apologize for not doing any research.


End file.
